Horrible = Hilarious

There are some movies so bad, they're good. You know the ones we're talking about. Showgirls immediately comes to mind; and among recent releases The Happening probably qualifies too. For seven years now, every summer the Neo-Futurists (and their imvited guests) have staged screenplay readings of some of the tackiest, cheesiest, most outdated and just plain terrible movies ever made. It's a brilliant concept that turns subtext into text, and dry line readings into the punchlines for jokes that were always between the lines.

Tonight they launch the new series with a reading of Beach Blanket Bingo. The Revelettes will take on the Frankie & Annette surf and sand epic, and our guess is it won't take much exaggeration to find the comedy.

Upcoming titles in the series include Masters of the Universe (with skinny guy Ryan Walters in the Dolph Lungren role), the Pat Boone's preacher-in-the-ghetto flick The Cross and the Switchblade (directed by Neo-Futurist founder Greg Allen) and Coyote Ugly, "guaranteed to bring out your inner Girl Gone Wild." It's a great lineup, and it sure beats watching the current crop of crap at the multiplex.

The series runs each Thursday night at 8 through July 31. Tickets are $10; $2 off for student with ID and repeat customers. The Neo-Futurarium is at 5153 N. Ashland.